


The Revelation

by Brazendale



Category: True Blood, southern vampire
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-28
Updated: 2013-11-08
Packaged: 2017-12-27 20:26:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/983238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brazendale/pseuds/Brazendale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after the end of True Blood Season 3 and includes some Season 4 themes. </p><p>This was my first attempt at fan fic  at the time of writing so please let me know if you liked it and all comments are welcome.</p><p>As usual license has been taken with the characters and storylines so please take this into account when reading and suspend any preconceived ideas in relationship to the show or books if that is your bag. </p><p>Sookie has Faerie blood but hasn’t gone to Faerie land.<br/>Chapter 1 is Sookie’s point of view, Bill gets his story in later.</p><p>I do not own the characters and have only borrowed them from Alan Ball, HBO and Charlaine Harris and will return them unharmed once finished with them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

‘Girl, what you need is some good old fashioned fun,’ Tara said with her hands on her hips and a look in her eye. ‘You’ve been walking through life like a god dam Zombie for the last three months and it’s time you stopped girl and started living again. And I’m not taking no for an answer neither.’ Before I got a word out of my mouth she was off again. ‘Now don’t you go telling me that there are such things as Zombies either cause I don’t want to hear one more thing about anymore Supe shit, I’ve had more than my fill of all that crap for this life time.’

We were standing in my lounge room, daylight streaming through the net curtains lighting up the freshly painted walls, giving a glow to the newly polished furniture. Gran would have been so pleased to see the place back to the way it always was, she took so much pride in her house. I had finally been able to clean away the last traces of Maenad madness that had covered all the rooms. A fresh coat of paint and some new wall paper had brought it back to being a home again and even though to others the furniture would now stand out glaringly, its shabbiness emphasised even more now than before, to me it was comforting to have the familiar around me and boy, right now I could use any comfort I could get.

It had been three months, one week and two days since The Revelation, but who’s counting. Okay, so I am. Reminder to myself, stop counting the days, minutes and seconds since Bill and I broke up or more precisely, since Eric’s revelation had torn my heart to pieces and I stopped living. I couldn’t and still can’t bring myself to think of it as ‘breaking up with my boyfriend’ cause it was more than that, much more than that. The only way I can think of it is in terms of “The Revelation” because it wasn’t just about Bill, it was also about Vamps too and it was about me.

Yes, I am not the first girl to have her heart broken and yes, I am not the first girl to feel so betrayed by the person she lost her virginity to. I may be blonde but I am not that stupid. It happens every day. Girl meets boy check, girl falls in love check, boy gets what he wants check, boy betrays girl…. game over. But I am not one of those girls and never have been. I never expected to fall in love because I never thought I could have any kind of normal relationship, if you could call a telepath going out with a Vampire a normal relationship. I guess I just thought for so long that I would never be able to you know, find someone who I could actually let get close enough to do it with that I thought we had something special going. Something more than what it was. I guess I was wrong. And now, here it is three months, one week and two days later and I am still just surviving. 

I don’t know how I have been living the last three months. Through the numbness I can only remember snatches of time, vague episodes of hurt, hate and hopelessness here and there. I do have vivid recollections of lonely nights curled up in a ball with utter despair but I also cringe and break out in a cold sweat remembering the very worst night where, in complete madness and fury I planned to take that short walk through the cemetery to Bill’s house and stake his cold dead heart. I was shocked at the feelings I had and ashamed. I wasn’t bought up to be a vengeful person, I was bought up a Christian and good southern lady and in my exhausted and despairing state I had fallen asleep. That was the first small turning point that I had for while asleep, I had dreamt of Gran. 

She came to me as she had been the night she first met Bill when she was so happy that I had a date and even though it was with a Vampire, she had not been judgemental at all, if anything she too had been accepting and excited by what Bill was. With light shining all around her she simply said, ‘He’s a good man,’ that was all, then she was gone. When I woke in the morning for the first time in all that dreadful time I no longer felt angry, the bitterness had gone to be replaced by an overwhelming empty sadness. I had lost everyone I had ever loved with all my heart. And now I was alone, well almost.

There were two more instances that had made me open my eyes a little more and they both happened at Merlottes. Just because my life had stopped didn’t mean I stopped working. Things don’t pay for themselves and fixing up the house had almost cleaned out my bank account so once again I threw myself into the grind and worked my shifts.

I thought at first this would be a god send having to concentrate so hard to keep my shield up would give me something better to do than think about what had happened but the emotional turmoil I was going through proved to be greater than my power to block out others thoughts at the time, and this was more added misery for me. Hearing that I only had myself to blame and I got what I deserved by being dumped by a Vamp after whoring with a Were, or that I had supposedly been involved with a whole nest in Mississippi to the point where I needed a blood transfusion because I had let them drain me to such an extent, they were just some of the more salacious thoughts I had picked up. But it was the sympathetic stuff going through Sam Merlotte’s head that first got to me. I could feel Sam watching me with sadness in his eyes and although I knew that he meant well, his thoughts had drifted down the “I told you so” track and it stung like crazy. 

On the very same day Jason had come in to have his regular lunch of burger with La La’s special sauce and a side of chilli fries. Without realising it I was in Jason’s head before I knew it and his thoughts had been really easy for me to read …well it was Jason after all. I had been so shocked by what I heard that my mouth had dropped open and tears had spilled down my face before I had had the chance to stop myself. Jason was on Bill’s side.  
I was shocked and stunned and reeling at what I felt to be yet another betrayal and by the only other person that I thought I had left that might have cared about me. I some how managed to get through the rest of the shift and drive home.

I locked the doors and windows, pulled the blinds and took the phone off the hook. It was only then that I allowed myself to think about what I had seen in Jason’s mind and analyse Sam’s reactions. As much as I had always thought that Jason was no better than he should be as far as the many women in his life went, I had to admit that when he did have a girl for more than one night he did treat them so well that women loved him, so when I tried to logically evaluate what I had felt Jason was thinking I had to examine myself and my treatment of Bill. Jason’s view had been what I thought entirely male in that he felt I had never given Bill a chance. I was always demanding, never listening to his side of things, taking Bill for granted and always above everything else, expecting things my way. That would be hard enough in any relationship for a male to deal with but in a relationship with a male Vamp, it would be impossible. 

As for Sam, he knows me better than most people, his shifter senses understand me more than most others apart from Bill and my interpretation of “I told you so” was not what he really meant. Because he knows me, he knows how hard I struggle with my ability and how that affects me. He also understands how hard it is to be a Supe trying to mainstream so I guess his “told you so” was genuinely meant in a sympathetic light. Sam knew how hard it would be to have a relationship with me and my demanding ways. Let’s face it, I had to take a good hard look at myself and I didn’t like what I was seeing.

I looked back to the very first night that Bill and I met. He had come in to Merlottes and if I was being honest with myself I had been pretty forward. I had been excited beyond belief that a Vamp had come in, let alone someone who I had been so instantly attracted to. There was no blood bond that first night to blame anything on. Bill had not forced me to go running out into the car park after him and the Rats and I wasn’t glamoured. It was all my own doing. And it was me that asked him to meet me after work on the second night and me that had invited him to speak at the DGD meeting and to meet Gran. I had been the one who had initiated the first kiss. I had been the one to ask to go to Fantasia insisting it wasn’t a date but really expecting it to be one otherwise or I wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble I did to look nice and expect Bill to tell me so. I had been the one running to Bill’s house the night we first made love ….. it was me, all along it was me and even if Bill was initially acting under Queen Sophie Anne’s orders, Bill could not have made me do anything that I didn’t want to do because he couldn’t glamour me, blood bond or no blood bond.

Bill had been willing to meet the sun for me, he had gone against Eric, gone against his very Vampire nature and even gone against his human characteristics that were so preciously preserved. He tried so hard to allow me to express my so called independence when every time I did, it plunged us into further troubles. He never once chastised me for this; he only worried and tried even harder to protect me without hindering that precious independence when all along I now see how much harm it was causing. He had always been there when I needed him and he was the one person that truly understood and shared the pain of my telepathic struggles with life.

I have not seen Bill since the night of the Revelation. In my previous irrational state even the fact that Bill had not come back offering unwanted explanations had infuriated me. I hadn’t been willing to listen even if he had shown up but at the same time I had expected him to make the attempt. Adding to my fury was my disappointment when he didn’t try to see me. I realised how totally unrealistic my expectations of Bill had been. I was a child wanting the sun, the moon and the stars, I wanted everything but on my own terms.

Instead, for what it’s worth, Eric had shown up. He did not come inside as I had, after all, rescinded his invitation and I did not invite him in again. The first time he had come at dusk, flying in like some kind of god expecting to pick up the pieces of a forlorn and grieving Sookie Stackhouse pining away. I stood inside the front doorway while he looked up from the bottom of the porch steps watching me like a cat ready to pounce on its prey. If Eric was expecting me to be grateful to him for alerting me to what he considers to be the true facts of Bill’s motivations, then he was sadly mistaken. When I rescinded his invitation I meant it and nothing had changed. He had left soon afterwards without pressing the issue but even at the time I felt that would not be the end of it.

Through the blood bond I had felt him outside the house on more than one occasion. He had sent me flowers or I should say he, more than likely, ordered Pam to send them and he had made an occasional supposedly casual call to see if I was alright or if I needed anything. I knew that through the bond he could feel every emotion that I was feeling, but it was only now that I realised how much more despicable Eric’s actions had been.  
Eric had tricked me. Eric had tricked me more than once. Eric had known that Bill had been sent by the Queen but had said nothing until that night. To me that’s not something you would do if you cared for someone as Eric supposedly cared for me.

He had used me not just to go to Dallas for his own purposes but he had put me in danger with the Fellowship of the Sun. He had found Lorena and used her to trap Bill knowing full well the strength of a maker over its progeny. He had tricked me into drinking his blood. He had used me as Vampire crack and a means of day walking with Russell Edgington and above all else, he had put my relationship with Bill in jeopardy on countless occasions hoping we would split up and then finally, declaring the truth, knowing that it would bring me so much pain, all just to try to get me. Now he expected me to fall into his arms on the rebound from Bill. Like that’s ever going to happen now, NOT.

‘Sook, I’m not taking no for an answer.’ Tara’s words bought me back to reality. I had been reliving the past three months. Focussing, I knew that look in her eyes and I knew that she meant it and it would be useless to put up any kind of a fight so, I guess we are going out for a girls night out, whether I want to or not.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of a break up can be heartbreaking, even for a dead heart like Bill's. 
> 
> Written from Bill's point of view, we now experience his thoughts and how he is fairing after Sookie has banished him from her life.

The front door slamming heralded the arrival of Jessica coming home. I had never imagined that I would be happy to hear that familiar sound or that I would look forward to seeing my progeny but then so much had changed in my life over the last 3 months. Jessica, moving at Vamp speed, stood in front of me before I had even had time to ponder my thoughts. She had been on a date with Hoyt and was still wearing the after glow of young love on her face mixed with a look of concern. As I looked up at her, the concern disappeared, replaced with a relieved smile. 

‘Did you have a good night?’ I enquired tentatively, not quite sure what response I would get these days. Jessica and Hoyt’s relationship was at that precarious stage between first love and serious commitment, made even more complicated by the Vampire / Human issues that can quickly lead to disaster as I knew only too well. ‘You know you really should come out with us one night, I know that Hoyt would really like that. He likes you, you do know that don’t you Bill?’ she said hoping to gain my further acceptance of Hoyt and her relationship with him.

Jessica had grown up. Not long ago my respect would have been the last thing that she would have sought. Jessica may still only be 17 years old but she was older, more mature than her years now. The last 3 months had made her that. She had become a woman without even knowing it and I was so grateful for it. One of the few things that Eric had been right about was how rewarding having a progeny could be. It was Jessica that had been there for me in those first few agonising weeks after Sookie had ended our relationship and without her I would have gladly met the sun, ending the pain and torment I was feeling. 

At the time I was turned I had thought that there could not, and would not ever be a time in my new life that I would suffer the pain of loss as much as I did when I lost my beloved wife Caroline, my sweet children and my humanity. I was wrong. 

For over one hundred and forty years I existed as a Vampire, fighting against my new nature and mourning the loss of my human life, despairing of any happiness in the future and knowing that I deserved none. I was a creature of darkness and self loathing now, what happiness could such evil deserve. The acts of depravity I had preformed under Lorena’s tutelage had dammed me for all eternity. I despised the life I shared with her but try as I might; I could not escape the bonds of my maker. I was plunged into a pit so dark and deep that there was to be no escaping the pain and suffering I inflicted on others and no escape from the punishment and guilt I wore like a hair shirt. 

I felt the suffering of Lorena too adding to my list of misdemeanours. The pain she felt when knowing that I could never ease her life with the one thing she had craved in all the long years of her existence, I could never give her the love she desired, instead I could only feel pity for her. 

Lorena could not bear to look at me once she realised there would only be pity in my eyes and not the adoration she had sought for so long. It hurt her more than words could say but she released me rather than endure day after day living with my rejection in front of her eyes. I wandered the world for a time living with the pain of Lorena’s wounded heart calling through our blood bond and cloaking me with unbearable sadness. I lived, if you could call it that, trying to find redemption. 

I fed but never drained. I glamoured those I used simply to eliminate the tortuous memories they would have, and to ease my burden of guilt. I even gave advice on vitamin supplements to help in their recovery from the nocturnal encounter with the living dead. It was after one such encounter in the early eighties of London’s dying punk scene that I first met Nan Flannigan. She said she had been watching me and told me of like minded Vamps and a new way of thinking that was being embraced by the more evolved and enlightened Vampire minds of the higher echelon. My scepticism was palpable to begin with but as time moved on and the world changed, I began to become more open to the fledging AVL mandates. Moving back to the States I undertook a position within Nan Flannigan’s organisation. I wanted more than anything to believe again, to find a place within humanity and to atone for all that I had done, wiping away the years of blackness. 

Then a miracle occurred; Sookie. I had stopped believing in God, what kind of God could exist that allowed the suffering and misery of the Undead? But I could not deny that Sookie was my miracle and I whole heartedly thanked my abandoned God for the mercy he had shown me. 

I had been working undercover infiltrating the Queens entourage, gaining her trust, when she charged me with investigating her. How ironic that of all the places on this earth I would end up back in Bon Temps living in my home and just a short distance from my own and my beloved families resting places. The mission Sophie Ann had sent me on had been much to my distaste and I had been putting off attempts to make any effort what so ever to proceed, but for the sake of my cover I could not risk any suspicion from the Queen, so I went to Merlottes. 

I am as guilty as the next person in being judgemental. The investigation of a barmaid had me assuming it would be a waste of time, after all the average expectation of someone working in a bar is of not a very flattering nature and although I like to think of myself as progressive, there is still enough southern male in me to slightly disapprove of a young woman working in that environment. I have been told on more than one occasion that I am old fashioned but I would say rather that I am mildly conservative. I walked into Merlottes that night picturing killing a couple of hours of my time and reporting back to the Queen that she had been highly misinformed. 

I can still see my first vision of her. She was not in the least how I had pictured her to be, blonde, brash and somewhat crude. Instead this blushing and excited girl, tongue tied with the excitement of meeting a Vampire in the flesh so to speak, stood nervously in front of me trying very hard to give a good impression. I could not say the same for Sam and the other inhabitants of the bar, namely the Rattrays.

I knew immediately there was something different about her. What was she, was she more than a telepath as had been reported to the Queen? Apart from needing to find out for the sake of my mission, I needed to find out for myself. If she was drawn to me that first night then I was drawn to her just as much and I look back now with the certain knowledge that it was not just her Faerie blood that drew me to her.

Perhaps on that very first night it was her innocence that had attracted me. I expected someone working in a bar to have a worldly knowledge of human nature from the coarseness permeating through the environs, leaving a tarnished mark on her personality, but she seemed to be such an innocent and naïve soul. To run out into the night to rescue a Vampire from the Rattray white trash was either very heroic or very foolish but Sookie was motivated by neither emotions. She simply acted as she did that night because she saw someone in harms way and tried to help. How many people walk past an incident these days without lifting a finger to help a victim from an unprovoked attack? I was intrigued by her justice and her common decency.

I was also surprised and drawn to her non judgemental views regarding Vampires, although now sadly those feelings would be different. Her own personal experiences living with the prejudices and misconceptions towards her telepathy had made her more than sympathetic to those that are different. The night I had met her Grandmother, Sookie had said to me ‘who was she to judge others?’ I had felt I had found a kindred spirit, another walking this world as alienated, hurt, lonely and lost as I was and hating what they were but with no option to change.

My love, my longing, my passion for her only grew as the days went on. We were linked by much more than just a blood bond. She had trusted me enough to give me the greatest gift she felt she had; that of her virginity. I was so touched, so overwhelmed by the love she had given with it that I knew then she was the love of my life. Coming into my life had given me back my life. I could not imagine living without her. 

Now she was gone from me. I did not berate God as others often do in their grief and loss. I had only myself and circumstances to blame. The circumstances I could do nothing to change, my choices were of my own making and there in lies my guilt. 

I had tried to tell all to her on countless occasions but my fear of losing her had held my tongue. Eric had chided me once telling me to ‘man up’ but unknown to him I was involved in a bigger picture and not all my secrets were my own to tell. How could I jeopardize the work I was doing for the AVL and the pledge I had given Nan Flanagan? The hope for a new world of acceptance for thousands of my kind was more valuable than one personal relationship. So I said nothing, my motives on that score at least were not for my own selfish needs. 

Even if I had been able to tell her what was really happening and the reasons for my actions, as much as I loved her I did not think she was ready to understand. Because of her gift she was very much a child in a woman’s body. It was not her fault. I knew only too well how hard mainstreaming in a world where perfection is God and anything that is not perfect or the norm is not tolerated but is to be mocked and shunned. So she had lived a very sheltered life for all her exposure to the baser thoughts of those around her. My hope for her now was, with space and time, she would be able to grow and mature and become the woman she deserved to be in her own right; without me in her life.

This however was not how I felt the first night after being banished from Sookie’s house and her life. Jessica had returned just before dawn to find me in a pitiful state and she was scared by what she found. The bond between maker and progeny goes deep and through the blood bond feelings are mixed. Jessica could feel the pain I was experiencing but could do little to help. She too was struggling with the loss of Sookie. In her short Vampire life she had come to look at her as her Step Mum, confidant and girlfriend. We were her only family now. 

She grieved for my loss and hers, becoming distraught as the days went on and I did not talk, did not eat but slowly turned a deadly shade of grey green. I was fading before her eyes, starving myself to death. She begged me to talk to Sookie, to explain to her the reasons for what had happened even though she did not know the full story. Her sorrow for me turned to anger towards her, feeling the injustice of my predicament to the point where I realised if this kept up, in her fledgling Vampire state she may actually do something to harm her. 

Looking back now I see this as a blessing as I had to do something and I was forced to snap out of it. I had vowed to Sookie that no matter if we were apart, for the rest of my living days I would protect her. It was a vow that I meant to keep even if it meant my death and so just as I felt I had nothing to live for, I realised that although I could not be part of Sookie’s life I could protect it from those who she would be most in danger from. It was a reason to live and a purpose to my life.

In those lost two weeks Eric had not tried to contact me. He had got what he wanted and would be feeling confident that given time and the blood bond, he had tricked Sookie into; at some stage in the future she would be his. Queen Sophie Ann however was a different proposition. Russell Edgington’s public display had put the Vampire movement back hundreds of years and that meant a drop in revenue for her. It had not taken long for the disgust of the public to turn the redneck population into the regular hoard of protesters. Jessica had told me of random Vampire killings becoming more frequent over the two weeks I had been a recluse. 

I had seen it all before, particularly in the South. I had lived through the days after the War between the States where anonymous cloaked men had hidden names and reputations behind a glorious cause of bigotry, fear and hatred and now I was living through it again it seemed. It was at that point in time that Queen Sophie Ann made her appearance at my home gloating over Russell’s apparent demise, greedy and power hungry to take over his territory and counting the money she would make from selling Vee to a new unsuspecting state.

Under normal circumstances, a visit from my Queen would have caused me to continue my deception of willing procurer however, with my life now no longer a priority to me, my disgust towards her boiled to the surface. I challenged her. She was much older than I and had it not been for the unexpected appearance of Nan Flannigan and her bodyguards things would not have had the same outcome. As head of the AVL Nan was less than happy that she had been unable to contact her now most senior operative. Under the current climate of disarray in Russell’s aftermath, she had taken the unusual step of personally investigating my whereabouts. That is how she came to be in Bon Temps and that is how Queen Sophie Ann of Louisiana came to meet the true death.

The weeks after this event allowed me no time to continue my malaise. I had a new role to fulfil with the AVL to keep me occupied. Also, after much persuasion from Jessica, I had finally given up undertaking the renovation plans for the house that I had intended completing myself and I hired an interior decorator to finish the job. My only stipulation being to retain the fireplace in the parlour purely for sentimental reasons, the piano also must stay and all works were to be conducted during the day with tradesmen gone by nightfall. 

Over three months have now past and I have not seen Sookie. I have made no attempt to contact her. I do not go to Merlottes. I do not walk the short walk through the cemetery to watch over her house. Jessica and Hoyt know better than to mention her. Whilst Jessica is relieved that I am so busy now with my new ‘business venture’ and ‘political meetings,’ at times I have caught her looking at me with a sadness that was never there before and of course, I can feel her sympathy for me through the bond but it is not spoken of between us, it can not be spoken. 

There are no words that can describe the sorrow buried in me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Revelation
> 
> Sookie’s point of view – be warned some steamy bits.
> 
> Usual disclaimers, tributes to Alan Ball, HBO & Charlaine Harris all characters belong to you, just my imagination tweaking things a little and no harm intended.

Why did I ever agree to go out to on this girl’s night out? I was walking through the garden making my way to my sun lounge and ready for an afternoon of lying out and baking golden brown. Finishing my shift last night and looking forward to two days break, I had heard the weather report saying sunny skies and that was it, I had my two days off to work on my tan. I had slept in, got up and made a pot of coffee to wash down my breakfast and I had done my regular chores of washing dishes, changing sheets and loading the washer. I had mopped, dusted and polished. Finally finished, I was carrying my little radio, lotion and various bits of paraphernalia with me when I realised that tonight was the night I had agreed to go out with Tara. 

A ripple of nervousness mingled with a tiny flash of excitement shot through me. Settling on the lounge after coating myself in coconut suntan lotion, I laid there listening to the radio tuned to a golden oldies station Tara had left it on from one of her many stay overs during the last three months. It was playing a beautiful song old song all about sitting in from of a fireplace with the one that you love. Hmm, now that stirs up some memories. A slight warm breeze, no more than a breath really, was just enough to keep me from feeling uncomfortable in the sun. The words of the song sifted through my subconscious. I could not focus on the magazine I had with me and as my eyes grew heavy, my mind wandered over the coming evening. 

The moonlight cast a silver shimmer across the lawn. ‘I can smell sunlight on your skin,’ Bill’s voice melted over me, blue eyes bathing my face like waves of crystal clear water. Ripples of desire washed through me and leaning slightly forward I gently placed my hand on the back of his head, slowly moving his face in to meet my slightly parted lips. I kissed him lightly, inviting more but fearful of his rejection. 

His mouth was soft, delicate and sensuous. Kissing softly at first, barely a touch, then tentatively, he parted my lips with his tongue. Electric shocks pulsed through me as the kiss and embrace deepened. I had never kissed like this. I had never experienced the want and need of passion in such a way before. Nothing else existed but his kiss, his lips, and his tongue. It went on forever and I never wanted it to end but Bill broke away slightly turning from me, his breath rasping. 

I was shaking from the emotions I was experiencing that were all new to me and had me in turmoil. As Bill turned back to face me I saw his extended fangs. I was bathed in a desire and need so strong I was stunned at my own reaction. I wanted him so badly, more than I have ever wanted anything in my life.

‘Sookie……Sookie, Sookie’. My eyes flew open and I audibly gasped. I was drenched in sweat and want. Tara was standing on my lawn shaking me. I had fallen asleep sun bathing. I had been dreaming of Bill. It was not the first time in the last three months that I had dreamt of him but all the other dreams had been full of hurt, pain, deception and betrayal and had definitely not been like that. I had been in too much distress to have given any thought over the months to any other needs that I may have. 

I had not had any other man apart from Bill and he had awoken me to a whole new world of soaring heights that I had never imagined possible for me to experience. After having someone in that way as often as I had, it was a wonder to me that this had not happened sooner. I kidded myself that I must be feeling a bit better about things. The fact that I had been dreaming about Bill was understandable after all, he was the only man I had ever had, but I mean it could just as easily been any number of hunky movies stars or why even that really cute English TV star I had seen in some series last week, the one about the married man that seduces the maid so that his wife can have a child that I had been dreaming about. It was just a sex dream. Well that was what I told myself.

Tara had come over to get ready with me for our night out. She had not told me too much about where we were going, only that she would bring me over an outfit that would be appropriate for the night. I wondered about this and it made me nervous all over again but as she was trying so hard to do what she thought was good for me that I did not want to spoil it by being a wet blanket. I had done this too much in the past and was determined that it would be the new reinvented Sookie Stackhouse going out to face the world tonight.

I realised that this would be the first time that I would be going out, on my own since… oh alright I’ll say it to myself, since Bill. I can at least think his name now more often without wanting to cry, die or throw wooden stakes. I would be a different person going out and seeing things through whole new eyes. I would be ‘experienced’ and not the unworldly virgin that I was when I had been on those few random disastrous dates that I had. Not that I was looking to find a date or a man anyway. 

I guess that I had never thought of it before but I actually have had two Vampires, Bill and Eric kind of fighting over me and then both Sam and Alcide were attracted to me and seeing that Sam is a Shifter and Alcide a Were, I didn’t think that the attraction was because of the Faerie blood thing either as far as they were concerned, can’t say the same about the other two though. Yet here I was again, on my own. While I didn’t especially want any involvement right now it still made me wonder what was wrong with me apart from the obvious telepathy issue and would I ever be able to have another relationship? My god, I sound so Sex in the City: Can you survive the love of your life betraying you for their Vampire Queen? I wonder what Carrie and the girls would think about that one, that’s high stuff for Bon Temps.

While Tara fixed us a pre night out snack, I went and had a shower. After grabbing a bite to eat I shaved my legs and as a special treat rubbed a new honey and almond moisturiser all over me. I applied nail polish to my fingers and toes while my hair was drying and felt thoroughly pampered by the time I had put on my make up. The bag with the dress Tara had bought over for me was hanging from my wardrobe and I had made a promise to Tara not to open it until the very last minute. I finally was ready and unzipped the bag. I had lost a few pounds over the last few months, no appetite and feeling like death do that to a girl but I would not recommend it as a weight loss program. When I saw the shimmering golden cowl necked backless dress Tara had dreamed up for me, I actually started to feel good about myself for the first time in a long time, hoping like crazy that with my new figure and sun kissed tan I could pull it off. 

Tara had dressed while I was finishing myself off and had been waiting patiently in the living room. ‘God dam it Sook but you look beautiful, was I right or was I right about that dress?’ she had said with the widest smile on her face. Tara needed something to feel good about too after what she had been through with Franklin and right now this was the happiest I had seen her for ages. It gave me a good feeling that maybe we were both moving on with our lives and despite what she had been through, she was looking amazing too dressed in a silver sequin number.

As Tara insisted on driving, our destination was still a mystery to me and I gave up wondering and left everything to her. It wasn’t until we turned into the street off the main road in Munroe and I saw all the parked cars and a long line of people, that I questioned her. We had to park a block and a half away from our destination and walk back to the end of the line before I couldn’t resist any longer. ‘How did you hear about this place?’ I asked her as we moved a miniscule amount closer to the front of the building. ‘La La bought me here last week. You know Lafayette, if there’s something good going down he knows about it. That boy belongs in LA not backwater Bon Temps. He is pure exotic,’ she replied with a smile. 

I was scanning the crowd in front of us and just could not believe what I was seeing. What ever the place was like in side it must be pretty impressive judging by those lined up outside trying to get in. Every single person in front of us was dressed fashionably, hair and makeup on the ladies exquisite and men barbered and tailored to perfection, expensive perfume and aftershave wafting around us. This was no Were bar with biker dudes and there would be no Goth Fangbangers inside. I so totally understood Tara’s reasons for the elaborate outfits now and was even more grateful to her, my confidence over taking my nerves, but not by much.

We were halfway down the line of people when one of the more official members of staff that had been standing by the door with the uniformed bouncers, started moving down the line and okaying random selections to be allowed entrance. As he approached us I felt my heart leap, for some unknown reason while standing here waiting to go in, it had become really important to me to go get a look inside. Tara had been right, it had been so long since I had any fun and I was surprised to realise that I was sort of enjoying myself a little already. ‘Ladies, please go right in,' he declared and he waved his hand indicating to the bouncers that we had the seal of approval I guess. As we approached the double doors I heard the beat of the music permeating out and stepping inside I was hit with a sensory overload that overwhelmed me. 

I had once read an old magazine article about Studio 54 and the disco scene in the 70s and 80s. It had sounded so decadent and outrageous to my small town mind but I had also envied the spirit of those living through that time. It seemed to me that they were living for the moment and not for convention, they admired difference instead of judging it and you could be whoever you were without anyone raising an eyebrow. At the time a small part of me had felt that maybe I could have fitted in or at least not felt as alien as I did just in plain old Merlottes at times. And now here I was in a miniature replica of that time and place or at least what I imagined it to be. 

To the right of the front door was a cloak room with a girl dressed in purple. Her make up was that Eighties glam disco look and she was stunningly pretty. To the left of the door was a medium sized room with a bar decked out in black, chrome and purple with small tables scattered seemingly randomly behind clusters of huge potted palms strategically placed for privacy. But it was straight in front of us that took my breath away.

Through an even bigger set of black and purple leather doors, I could see steps leading down to a sunken flashing neon dance floor that pulsated to the rhythm and beat of the music that was vibrating through my chest like a microwave. Banquets of low leather couches with coffee tables surrounded the dance floor on three sides, the fourth side had a bar running the whole width of the building. A winding chrome stair case led to the upper balcony overlooking the entire room. It made Merlottes look like an outhouse. And the bar staff, what could I say. Sam could sure took take a leaf of the owner’s book. 

I had read in the same magazine article that the entire bar staff had worn shorts and singlets, so no different to Merlottes except we wore tees with our shorts. The bar staff here however were all male and boy, were they. I had never seen so many gorgeous looking men in one place let alone working in a bar. They so should have been on the covers of magazines not pouring drinks. Whoever had set this place up had gone to a lot of trouble and sure had a lot of money and an extra helping of class. 

Everywhere I looked there were people and they were all here with the same purpose, just to enjoy them selves. After checking our wraps with the pretty girl at the cloak room, Tara led the way through the double doors and the crowd towards the bar. As we past groups here and there my confidence grew from the admiring comments both verbal and non verbal that we were getting. My apprehension about going out had partially been due to the same old problem – hearing others thoughts, but Bill had patiently taught me how to block the static and filter the thoughts of others so that I could cope a lot better than I ever had been able to before and now all that hard work was paying off or maybe the people here were just a different sort of crowd. I wasn’t picking up the nasty thoughts that seemed to fly around at Merlottes.

Finally at the bar, Tara ordered a scotch and coke for herself and a gin and tonic for me. ‘No,’ I snapped. Tara’s eye brows rose in surprise then a look of comprehension came over her face. ‘I’m sorry Sook I forgot that’s what you used to drink at Fangtasia. I tell you what, let’s both go all out and get down in the disco mood and par-tee, make it two Black Russians.’ The barman, looking like the winner of a centrefold competition smiled and winked then put on a show of his bartending skills that would have left Sam shaking his head in wonder.   
Moving away from the bar we found a small table overlooking the dance floor and settled in. I had never been much of a drinker so between the sips of my cocktail, the heady atmosphere of the place and the pounding beat of the music, I was starting to feel relaxed.   
The DJ was just great with his selection of music and it wasn’t too long before I caught Tara tapping her feet. 

Giving me another one of those looks that generally means trouble she got to her feet, grabbing my hand and half jokingly dragged me to the dance floor. Although I couldn’t sing for nuts, one thing that I could do, and do well, was dance and with the music and the Black Russian helping, I was having a good time. We danced to a few songs and it felt great. We sat again for a while catching our breath and ordered two more drinks from the waiter who had the tiniest pair of shorts that I have ever seen a male in. 

We were watching the passing parade of people coming and going from the dance floor, the tables and the balcony and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was no fighting, brawling, swearing or biting; everyone was just in the now and feeling good.  
Half way through our second drinks the song changed again and on came a song all about tainted love. Tara’s eyes met mine and with a wicked grin we were up in unison and dancing. The song ended with us both giggling helplessly unable to say a word but both sharing a moment, tears pouring down our faces – we had both survived our tainted loves and were both really scarred but we were trying to do a good job of pretending that everything was normal and we were having a great time when really, we would both never be the same and underneath it all, who were we kidding: Tara would wear her scars for life and a big chunk of me had died.

We were still on the dance floor as the opening bars of an erotic song from way back that I vaguely remembered came on, and then it happened. I was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling pulling through my whole body. Something urgent and familiar and needy like a hunger or a thirst that you can’t ignore was driving through my very being and I knew that if I didn’t find what it was I would never survive and be really whole again. I looked around confused, searching through the crowd. I was bathed in sweat and shaking, the feeling engulfing and drowning me. I was looking desperately to find what I was searching for… then, through the crowd I saw him.

 

Bill was standing near the steps leading down to the dance floor.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: if you are easily offended by language and pure lust and what it entails, do not read on. If you enjoy this kind of stuff… go for it, have a blast.
> 
> Bill, Sookie and third person perspective.
> 
> Kudos to Alan Ball, HBO and Charlaine Harris for their characters, I own none of them and hand them back unscathed at the end of the story.

Sookie couldn’t breathe. Her heart was pounding and she was shaking. Tara reached out to steady her. ‘Are you all right, you have gone white as a sheet?’ She couldn’t speak; she could only go on staring. When she didn’t answer Tara turned to see what she was looking at that had such a dramatic effect on her. ‘Oh fuck….. God dam it,’ was all Sookie managed to hear Tara mutter under her breath. Tara turned back to her with a comprehending look and gave her a slight push towards the steps. She did not like it but she did understand.

Sookie had not taken her eyes off Bill and he had not moved, his blue eyes had met hers and that was all she could see, sapphires shining in his pale glowing face. She moved towards him unaware of everything around her except the pulsing beat of the hypnotic music and the one person in the entire world she had never expected to see tonight, or ever again for that matter. Nothing else existed, he was her entire focus. She was walking through a blur of colour and movement but noticed nothing except that face and those eyes. After what seemed like an eternity she stood at the foot of the steps leading up to where Bill was standing perfectly still looking down at her. She looked up and all she could manage to whisper was ‘Where?’

Bill turned slowly and smoothly and although near the entrance to the dance area was packed with patrons, he seemingly glided through the crowd like a skater over ice with her following closely behind. She felt that she could barely manage to walk but somehow she kept up with him. Turning sharply to the right once they were passed the big double doors, Bill had stopped to punch a code into a key pad next to a concealed door that was discreetly hidden behind a cluster of potted palms. It was marked with a shiny brass plaque engraved with “Management Only” marked clearly. Opening the door, Bill passed in before her and she followed him, the door closing silently behind her. 

The room they had entered was clearly an office but nothing like the small, cramped and messy space Sam worked in at the back of Merlottes. This was spacious, luxurious and decorated with extremely good taste. The walls were painted in subdued neutral deep beige with matching black, purple and beige plush carpet. All the lamp fittings were black too and complemented the black leather sofas scattered with beige and purple silk cushions that lined two walls. The large desk towards the back of the area stood in front of a huge abstract art work in black, gold and purple tones. Purple she was thinking, that would figure why there was so much in the club, Bill’s favourite colour was purple. 

The desk itself was neat as a pin with the latest computer equipment housed on it, no paper work here cluttering up pigeon holes, everything would be streamlined and up to date on spread sheets and stored electronically. Everything was plush, sleek, practical and expensive looking. Even the dimmed lighting emphasised the richness and quality of the room. The music from the dance floor was piped through a sound system and although it was playing at a low level, the erotic tones of the song were filtering through her brain while she tried to take everything else in.

Bill had stepped behind desk and as he did so she took the opportunity to look more closely at him. He had changed. His hair was stylishly cut in a cunning way that showed off his eyes, cheek bones and jaw line to perfection. He too had lost a little weight but he had gained some muscle and he looked more buff, it suited him. The clothes he was wearing were expensive and his well tailored black pants had a bronze shimmer to them, catching the light when he moved. His shirt and black leather jacket clung to his body showing of his new silhouette. 

He looked good; he looked more than good, he looked stunning and a sudden rush of lust flooded through her. As he turned to face her she found that she couldn’t look him in the eyes, she was overwhelmed with a feeling of guilt and shame for the way she had come to realise she had treated him and she was battling other feelings Bill awoke whenever near to her. She stood there unable to face him. He had not touched her once or made any attempt to.

Bill had been in the office earlier in the evening when he knew as unbelievable as it seemed …. he felt Sookie’s presence close by. Although the blood bond had diminished, he had had a lot of her blood so he could still feel her and even though she may be unaware of it, he was still aware of her emotions in the dim background of his mind, like a memory you try to remember but can never quite place. It is always there in the back of your head nagging at you. 

He had tried hard to get on with his work, fighting off the compulsive urge to look for her in the club but as the night wore on his efforts to ignore her presence were rapidly being over come by the burning need to see her, even if it was only from a distance. When he could not take it any longer he gave in and he walked out into the club. Feeling her presence even stronger than before, he left the office and foyer and headed towards the dance area to scan the crowd. 

He stopped at the top of the steps seeing her through the crowd of dancers like a golden vision. He remembered he had once spoken to her of the ‘magic’ that was life, looking at her now he had found that magic again. A chill raced through him when he felt her eyes meet his. It took him all his strength to stand as perfectly still as he could, fighting the impulse to run to her and hold her and tell her how sorry he was for all the wrongs he had done her but he knew he couldn’t do that, wouldn’t dare do that because he felt so undeserving of her love.

He watched her move towards him fearful of what was to come, dreading what he thought would be further punishment for his misdemeanours. He could feel the turmoil in her mind rolling off her as she approached and yet he could also feel a faint but tangible emotion going through her that he could not identify, something powerful but just out of his grasp of understanding. Then she was standing there in front of him looking up at him and he could not speak. She had simply whispered, ‘Where?’

Walking back to his office with her following only added to Bill’s apprehension plus, being this close to her again had aroused him, she had always had that effect on him and after being apart for so many months he was feeling the need to be with her, inside her, making her his own again.

Once in his office he had moved behind his desk to try to put some distance between them and to give himself a few more precious seconds to try to regain his composure. He was really fighting to control himself now that they were alone and so close. He did not trust himself as he felt his will power crumbling. He could feel her even more now, the blood bond seeming stronger than it had been in so many months. Or maybe that was his imagination, it may simply have been that he knew her as well as she did him and perhaps there was still something left of the intuition lovers and former lovers have for each other.

He wasn’t sure, for the first time in his Vampire life he could not discern the source of the emotions he was feeling coming from her …was it the fragments of the blood tie or was this real. He turned and looked at her; she could not look at him. Her cheeks were burning and her head lung low, unable to meet his gaze. 

‘Sookie,’ Bill whispered in the voice that had melted her heart countless times before and sent thrills through her core to her inner most soul. ‘Sookie look at me,’ he said again, not commanding her but compelling her. He felt the unmistakable wave of desire burn through her and his blood pounded as her eyes slowly drifted up from the floor lingering for just a fleeting moment on his groin before blazing to his eyes. 

With Vampire speed he was standing inches away from her. She had worn her hair swept back to one side with a golden clip pinning it back and with a sense of déjà vu not lost on either of them Bill rasped, ‘Take your clip out.’ Her hair falling around her shoulders, he simply asked, ‘May I?’ She gently nodded and Bill lent in to softly inhale the perfume of her hair and skin. ‘I can smell sunlight on your skin,’ he gasped as the intoxicating scent of her awakened memories of another time, the first time that they had stood as innocents to each other in his front yard under the shimmering moonlight. Then gently as she had done before, placing her hand on his neck, she drew him in to kiss him. Their lips barely skimmed each other, teasing and provoking to build the anticipation, sending electric sparks through them both and both trying to hold back the moment. 

Unable to suppress himself any longer, Bills fangs clicked into place. She let out a small groan at the sound that had meant so much pleasure to her in the past. Their lips met again and their kiss became an exploration of tongues, their bodies moulding together wreathing as one with passion. It had been so long, so very long and there was desperation in their kiss, a tangible deep unquenchable desire to have each other in the basest of ways.

As her dress was backless she merely shrugged it off her shoulders to leave it in a golden pool at her feet, their embrace unbroken. The feel of her bare skin so soft to his touch was almost more than Bill could take and with their bodies undulating in unison, Bill was in danger of losing control completely and doing something he hadn’t done since he was thirteen when he had seen his future wife Caroline skinny dipping in the local creek and he had come in his pants. He was so close to spilling his seed and he could feel her as close to coming as he was. 

She could not hold back for much longer. The click of Bill’s fangs had made her so wet, the silky milk flooding her with each throb of her being. Taking Bill’s hand she placed it on her mound and reached for his manhood. As she touched him, it seemed to leap with a life of its own and he let out a groan. Through her touch she could feel how much Bill wanted and needed her, she had never known him to be this big or hard, as though all the months of want had built up to this very moment. As Bill touched her with his long sensuous fingers, she rubbed against him riding hard, her own fingers stroking him with increased passion. Gasping in unison they flew together reaching a soaring peak of ecstasy they had not previously experienced and clung to one another standing against each other for support. This was real, there had been no blood but there had been forgiveness mixed with the madness of desire from them both.

They stood there still embracing and panting for a few minutes, neither of them in control of their emotions enough to speak. Gently Bill took her hand and led her over to the abstract painting on the rear wall, moving it slightly to one side to expose another keypad. After punching numbers in at Vamp speed the painting slid back to reveal a hidden doorway concealing a sumptuously decorated light tight bedroom with en-suite.

Unlike the office with its subtle beige tones this room was all Bill. Shades of aubergine decorated the walls and ceiling, the rich hues complementing the tapestries hung on either side of the opposing walls to the left and right of the doorway. A modern version of a chaise lounge made of the softest cream coloured leather stood against the wall to the left, draped with a purple and gold silk throw rug but it was the huge bed with a black leather headboard that was the focus of the whole room. Covered in a damask bed spread, layers of feather soft cushions splashed randomly, the bed looked the ultimate in comfort. 

This was nothing like their bedroom full of heavily carved solid wood furniture at Bill’s home. This was a reflection of the new Bill standing before her and Sookie liked it a lot, it was exciting, like unwrapping a beautifully wrapped present on Christmas day knowing that if the wrapping was this exquisite the gift inside was sure going to please. With this thought she almost giggled out loud and the excitement she had just experienced began to build in her again. 

Bill pointed to the doorway off to the right of the entrance. ‘The bathroom has anything you may require right now,’ he said, ‘and it has a spa and double shower we may need later,’ he added, eyes smouldering and a tiny crease of a smirk delicately curling the corners of his seductive mouth. He felt the surge running through her at his words; his body instantly responding to hers. 

Taking the golden morsel of a gown she had picked up from the floor as they walked in, Bill laid it delicately across the lounge. Fingering it gently and in quiet reflection he said, ‘I will never forget how you looked standing there tonight. The golden light shines from you and within you. You are my light and my love. All has been darkness for me without you,’ blood tears suddenly streaking his face. She was immediately by his side, her hand against his lips shushing him, wiping away his tears as her tears streaked down her face. ‘I love you Bill Compton. Even when I hated you I loved you. It has taken what has happened to make me see, your words that night burned through me until I finally saw the truth in them and now I can say to you that I love you for who you are and not what you are. I understand the meaning of that now’. 

‘Sookie there are things that I want to tell you, I need to tell you the truth and it will be the whole truth. I never want to keep anything from you again even if it means you will know things that may be of danger to you. I understand now that half of our problems came from me trying to protect you and that made you feel inadequate as a person. I promise I will always be honest with you but you must promise me that you will trust my judgement when it comes to your protection.’ 

‘Bill I do promise but not now, not tonight, don’t speak of it. Tonight I just want to be with you, close out the past and the future and just have us and this moment. And I want to make up for what we’ve been missing for the last three months, two weeks and whatever days it’s been,’ she blushed. ‘Why Miss Stackhouse, I do believe you are being very forward with me, and seeing that all you are wearing is that tiny piece of black lace, I think that I may help start moving the proceedings along a little.’ ‘Bill Compton, don’t you dare,’ but before she could finish her sentence Bill had reached down and in one swift movement he had ripped her panties off, throwing them with considerable abandonment across the room. Sweeping her into his arms she found herself lying on the bed in one swift breath taking move, with Bill quick as lightening flinging off his clothes. 

He stood at the foot of the bed letting her look at him. He knew from past experience that she revelled in ‘checking him out’ so to speak. He was not being vain; he knew this to be the truth by the quickening of her heart beat. He stood looking at her lying on the bed, soft, beautiful and totally wanting him. He watched her stare at him and felt the rush of exquisite milk bathing her as his manhood hardened to attention. Her breathe was quickening rapidly and her nipples had now tightened to raspberry mounds begging to be sucked. When she began to stroke her self it was more than Bill could bear. ‘Sookie, spread your legs for me.’ The mere sound of his voice saying something so un Bill like from his usually conservative lips, sent shudders of electric silk coursing through her veins and scooting forward to the edge of the bed, she wrapped her legs around him. Bill plunged forward, the thrust of his movement sending them sliding up the bed. Wildly kissing, frantically touching, licking, sucking and thrusting hard into each other, it was as though they could not get enough and would never be able to get enough of each other. Nothing could make up for the time they had been apart. Bill knew she was close to coming and he could not hold back much longer as each thrust became deeper, hitting that special place of ecstasy within in her. 

‘Sookie I am going to come,’ he urgently panted. At his words she tilted her head to expose the pulsing vein in her neck.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another warning, if you found Chapter 4 too racy then please do not read Chapter 5. If on the other hand you were entertained previously then have fun and enjoy.
> 
> Bill and Sookie do not belong to me. I have merely taken them on my journey in the hopes others will come along for the ride and enjoy it too.
> 
> My admiration goes out to Alan Ball, HBO and Charlaine Harris. I return our two heroes to your capable hands, much loved and unharmed.

‘Sookie no,’ Bill rasped. Looking up at his face she noticed as she had earlier that although he looked good, he was paler than she had ever seen him before. In her heart she could tell that he had not fed on a human for a very long time and thinking of this she knew that he probably had not fed on anything but True Blood since they had been apart. She wanted to do this for him as a proof of her trust in him and her love for him. ‘Sookie I cannot do this,’ he said, inside his Vampire nature waged a battle for control over his emotions. 

He wanted only to give her as much of his human qualities that remained, as she deserved. ‘Oh Bill,’ she said looking at him, her eyes luminous and full of understanding, ‘please Bill; I want you to so much. I love you and I trust you and I want you to trust me on this. I want you to do this for you and for us, it’s a part of who you are and I know now that I am willing to accept all of you just as you are.’ Bill had remained perfectly still but now, as she turned her head again exposing the pulsing artery in her neck, she began rocking into him and lent forward kissing his nipple. She knew that this was something that set Bill on fire and she was not wrong in trusting her instincts.

Bill lost his battle with his emotions and the Vampire took over. He could not hold back any longer, thrusting with ever increasing movements, he could feel his seed coming. He bit in to her and at the same time she latched onto his neck with enough force to break tiny holes in his skin and she began to suck from him. The combination of both of them taking the blood from each other flooded through their veins. 

He felt her muscles tightening and contractions milked his seed as he exploded within her. A glorious wave of shattering shooting stars filled their minds as their bodies climaxed in unison, blazing through moments of bliss. Both found it unbearable to break away from the sheer pleasure flowing through them and were unwilling to end the overwhelming intimacy of the moment. Shockwaves continued to ripple through their bodies like lingering after thoughts. Bill leant forward gently kissing her on the lips, reluctant to end the emotional experience, feeling nothing but total belonging. 

She was panting, trying to regain her breath and slow her racing heart. Her head was swimming and she felt as though she would pass out. ‘Are you alright?’ Bill questioned with nothing but concern in his voice. ‘I’m just a little shaky,’ she admitted, ‘Bill, it was so beautiful. It … kind of reminded me of the first time.’ Tiny tears oozed from the corners of her eyes and trickled down the side of her cheeks. Bill quickly licked them away. Any subconscious doubts he may have had left him. She had forgiven him without even knowing the truth but he was determined that she would know everything, just not now, not tonight. She had been willing to give her heart and her body to him again, unconditionally and that was such a revelation to him. She had grown up and yet he was still fearful. He did not want to ruin the moment but he knew that it was now or never. ‘Sookie, I asked you once before but now I am asking you again. Will you marry me? Before you answer I want you to understand that if the answer is no, I will understand and I will never ask you again. I will leave Bon Temps and you will never have anything to fear from me.’ 

Bill would have held his breath if he could and as it was, it seemed like time stood still for him, how ever this time there was no hesitation from her. She looked up at him, meeting those anime eyes that penetrated her soul. She knew that this was not a moment for hesitation, all the hurt, all the obstacles that they had ever faced or were to face in the future; they would be able to face together now. How could she truthfully deny that she didn’t love him? She had not, for one single moment the whole time they had been apart; felt that she had been whole.

All her life she had felt bereft of completion and with Bill that feeling was gone. From that very first night when she had run out into the parking lot at Merlotte's heedless of her own safety, hadn’t there been something so compelling, something so right about him. Hadn’t she known even then that meeting Bill was bigger than she ever imagined. A force bigger than herself was working that night, she didn’t know what it was but now she knew to trust it. Wasn’t this meant to be, and who was she to fight it? 

This new revelation flashed through her mind in the space of a second, like a blinding light casting away the shadow of doubt in her mind. ‘Yes, I will marry you Bill Compton.’ ‘Are you sure, you don’t know the whole truth yet, I owe that to you before you decide,’ he said, doubt returning to cloud his face. ‘Bill, I never gave you a chance to explain before. I was so wrong not letting you …. I was so angry and hurt. I never let you really explain anything. Oh I know at times I asked you what else you were hiding and I know that you said nothing but I’ve done a lot of thinking while we’ve been apart and I realised that I pretty much made it impossible for you to tell me things. I can see now that there were times you maybe did want or try to tell me but, me being me, you knew I wasn’t ready to listen. I realised that you were always ready to listen to me well, I’m ready now to listen to you and I promise that I will hear you out.’ 

Just as she thought that there were changes in Bill, he now looked at her and found she had changed. Not physically, though he thought she had dropped a few pounds, to him she looked beyond beautiful, no the changes were all emotional. She had grown up. She was ready to listen and so very simply he told her about Nan, the AVL and Sophie Ann. ‘Sookie you do realise that by me telling you all of this it has put is both in grave danger?’ he said. 

‘You cannot tell anyone about what I have told you tonight. Do you understand now why I couldn’t say anything in my defence? It’s not just me or us I am protecting but a whole movement, a whole new way of life and not just for Vampires. Those of us who think like me, they want nothing more than to live as normal a human existence as possible, and Sookie there are a lot more of us than you would think, we have been working towards this for a long time. Some a lot longer than others,’ he added. ‘Great scholars and researchers; inventors, academics….gifted, wonderfully minded people. You have no idea of the great intellects from past centuries involved. You’ve seen for yourself the bigotry and hatred Russell Edgington’s actions have caused. It’s put the movement back a hundred years, a thousand years. There are people out there right now looking for an excuse to stake a Vampire on sight. They feel threatened by our very existence; to them it threatens their beliefs and their very way of life, they don’t see the potential this has. They don’t understand that nothing is closed to an open mind.’

Sookie looked at Bill in awe. She had never heard him speak like this, with this kind of passion in his voice, and she was fascinated. She was also curious, what did he mean scholars and inventors? Who did he mean? She had never thought of the historical implications. Why, think of the possibilities. Who knows what great minds may still be around, what they are capable of? Does this explain the progress in technology and enlightened thinking that has been made, particularly over the last two centuries? Why had she never thought about this before? If a person could live for centuries then think of the mental and spiritual growth they would experience. It could be a whole new way of life for everyone, the potential for a global enlightenment, it could change everything. 

‘Oh my god Bill, yes I can see it all. I’d never even considered the possibilities. Why the changes you have seen just in your time, I can’t believe that I have never thought about the implications of someone living through the ages. I only saw the dark side, I am so sorry I didn’t understand but now I do and I want to do anything I can to help,’ she simply said with all sincerity. ‘And you are right, this is just so big and means so much, I just never dreamt that ….’ her words trailed off and she was lost in thought again.

Gently stroking her cheek, Bill smiled. He could see the excitement she was feeling as she thought about what he had told her and all that it meant. It was a new way of thinking to her and one that not very long ago she would never have even considered. His instincts had been correct right from the start. There was more to Sookie Stackhouse than met the eye and it was not just her telepathy or her Fae blood line. 

They were lying propped up in bed while this conversation took place. Bill didn’t kid himself; he knew the way ahead was not going to be simple but just at this minute he was in a really good place. Reaching out he put his arm around her and drew her in to him, kissing her softly on the head. It was such a simple gesture but so human. Sookie, lost in her own thoughts until this moment, looked at him then sudden concern appeared on her face. ‘Oh Bill, I forgot about Tara. I know that she can take care of herself but she will be worried half sick about me. I can’t leave her out there wondering what’s going on.’ 

Bill was out of bed at once and striding back into the office. ‘What are you doing, you’re not dressed?’ she yelled out as she too jumped out of bed and followed him. He was scanning a panel of wall monitors previously hidden behind a sliding stone art work sculpture when she reached him. After locating Tara near the bar area he gave brief instructions over an intercom on the desk that She hadn’t previously noticed. ‘She will be fine now, you don’t need to worry I’ve sent for Sam to come over and pick her up.,’ Bill said. ‘Sam? What are you talking about?’ 

Bill smiled, ‘Sookie, Sam is one of the few enlightened supes that think along the same lines as us Vampires. Shifters haven’t had it as tough as us but they have had their problems too. Sam is on our side.’ ‘But Bill you and Sam never seemed to get along all that well at times or was that just an act?’ she questioned. ‘One of the big sticking points with Sam has been about coming out into the open and when the best time to do it would be. There has been a lot of argument about that point and whether the world was ready for us or not but then with the invention of True Blood, for us Vampires it just seemed like the right time to do it. Only history Sookie, is going to show if we were right or not.’

‘Now Miss Stackhouse, that is enough discussion for one night. I mentioned that the en suite has a spa bath and I intend for us to use it,’ Bill grinned mischievously, turning and heading for the bathroom. Blushing with anticipation she watched him filling the spa, the scent of aromatic bubbles rich and enticing. ‘Bill I know you said no more discussions tonight but I need to know something….who are you? I mean, I know who you are but what are you, and don’t say you are just a Vampire? And what exactly are you doing here?’ she asked.

It was his turn to look uncomfortable and if he could have, he would have blushed. ‘Umm, Sookie…I am not quite sure how to tell you this,’ he responded looking sheepish while her heart missed a beat. ‘I ahh, I am now the King of Louisiana and this is where I do a lot of my work from.’ Her mouth gaped open, ‘Shut the fuck up, get out of here you’re what? You mean technically I am engaged to Vampire royalty?’

Bill took her in his arms and held her, ‘Do you realise that is the first time you have said that and really meant it?’ he asked. ‘Said what, Vampire royalty?’ ’No, said that you are engaged to me’. As he said that he kissed her then began gently nibbling just behind her ear. She closed her eyes and gave a small groan. He continued nuzzling her then moved his hand to cup her breast, feeling her nipple harden in his palm. 

She stepped down into the spa and turned to face him. ‘How convenient,’ she said eyeing him off, ‘just the perfect height,’ she slyly smiled as she reached over and pulled him closer, her mouth searching for his now throbbing member. Bill rumbled at the first delicate touch of her tongue. She began slowly teasing the tip, enticing and tantalising him with each soft caress. She could feel his pleasure and excitement building just as hers was. ‘Oh Sookie,’ Bill groaned with pleasure, ‘take it all in your mouth,’ he rasped urgently. 

She opened her lips wide and slowly began sucking, inch by inch until finally taking him all in. Her movements increased as she felt him jump in her mouth. Reaching up she began tweaking his nipple with one hand and gently squeezing him with the other. His groans became louder as she sucked even harder. She was throbbing with want now, her body aching to feel him hit that special place within her and he could feel her need for him pound through him. 

With one swift move he had lent over, gently lifted her out of the spa and turned her so she was leaning against the tiled wall with her legs spread. He thrust into her from behind filling her in one movement, bathing in her silky hot wetness. One hand played with her, flicking her stiff nipple, the other reached for her swollen centre with his long talented fingers. Thrusting harder and faster they could feel they were both almost there, the excruciating excitement engulfing them both, desperately wanting relief but at the same time thriving in the pleasure of the prelude. 

When finally she knew she could not hold on any longer, ‘Bite me,’ she moaned as she was about to peak. He bit into her neck and sent them spiralling into a frenzied ecstasy that left them both spent. Picking her up he sank into the bath, cradling her in his arms all the while tenderly kissing her all over. They sat like that amongst the warmth of the perfumed bubbles holding each other. Neither spoke, they didn’t need to. Being together was enough.   
Bill, a simple southern farmer, a husband, a lover, a father, a soldier, a conservative, a creature of the night, a conservationist, a spy, a lost soul, royalty and now a redeemed humanitarian. Sookie a simple southern waitress, a granddaughter, a sister, a friend, an employee, a telepath, a Fae, an adult and now, a fiancée.

‘It’s magic Sookie Stackhouse,’ Bill softly whispered. ‘I understand, I didn’t at the time but I do now Bill Compton,’ she sighed.

FINIS...... until we meet again.


End file.
